Ted Barrett

Interview

It was business as usual; I did notice the crowds were a little bit lighter. Some people had been alerted to stay away from crowds, but the players didn't seem too concerned. I was of the understanding that outside it was not as big an issue, so even when the NBA [National Basketball Association] shut down, I thought we're still going to find a way to play. I think that was the attitude of the players, coaches and umpires. When they finally said [we’re] shutting it down, it came as a really big shock. I never imagined baseball would shut down.

I found out on the field. I was talking to one of the players and he was remarking how the virus was getting serious. When we get into spring training, we get in this little bubble where the rest of the world is blocked out and it becomes all about baseball. I wasn't even realizing the severity of the situation. Then we found out baseball was following suit the next morning.

[The] first person I told was my wife. After the game, I told her what the players were saying, and she said she had gotten word on her phone that an NBA player tested positive. She asked, “what would this mean for baseball?” I thought they'll shut it down for a little while, and then we'll resume spring training. We'll probably be back up on opening day.

I'm the vice president of our union. Immediately when I got home, we started having board talks. There are 76 members and [with] Triple A’s umpires, there are 18 associate members. We had to get the word out, and a lot of questions came up. Are we going to get paid? Are we gonna give up our per diem? As a union, we went into a crisis management mode.

As a crew chief, I have to stay in contact and just kind of keep their morale up and keep them ready. As a vice president of the union, I also work with MLB on training sessions, things that we do over Skype or Zoom. We get an MLB rules test emailed to us, and then we get together every Wednesday to discuss as a staff. [We’ve had] a really big change this year.

Relief pitchers that come into a game have to face a minimum of three batters. We had to go over all the scenarios. [Second,] there are new lineup things, position players that pitch have to be designated as two-way players, [as a] pitcher and position player. We have a lot of questions on how we enforce that. [Lastly,] we have a new wrinkle this year for us with replay, we're going to announce the replays, like the NFL and the NHL do. We'll announce what team is challenging and the result. This is very foreign to us, we’ve never had to speak into the camera before, so we're doing some [virtual] training with that. We're finding ways to stay busy and improve umpiring. As far as on the field stuff, the only way to practice calling balls and strikes is to actually get back there and do it. For us as umpires, that's what spring training is for. We can't practice the mechanics during the winter. Spring training is our practice. We're doing everything we can, off the field, to get ready for opening day.

It's frustrating for me because the gym [is] closed. Without that, I just walk on the streets. I listen to podcasts as I go. I've got weight training exercises that I do to get ready for the season. My dad has some weightlifting equipment in his backyard, and I'll go in there and train. It's hard when I go and see my mom and dad because I [usually] give them a big hug. Now I have to give them an air hug.

There are challenges with umpires all over. I'm worried about umpires that aren’t self-motivated to get out and work out. I'm worried about guys who aren't staying in-community. I'm worried guys might pick up some bad habits out of boredom. You know, going down bad trails. So, I’m trying to stay in-community through texts, through phone calls, general, “how you doing?”

When we get back on the field, I think there's going to be some real changes. [In our locker room,] we're there for a few hours before the game and a couple of hours after, so we eat [and] shower there. There's going to be a concern about hygiene and making sure things are [clean]. We shake hands a lot as we come out on the field, we may not be able to do so for a while. We're going to have to take some safety precautions.

We're going to get back out there and have a great season. [After] 9/11, we went back to work about a week later. I wasn't ready to get on a plane. I got on a plane, flew to Chicago, and we started [playing] baseball again, and I personally saw it heal the country. Baseball is resilient. It's not going away. All the players and the umpires, we can't wait to get out there and provide that for this country. It won't be long until a player is yelling at an umpire and an umpire throws [him] out of the game. Fans will be back in their seats screaming at me.